Xi Jinping Promotes China as AI Leader at WAIC

During his speech at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Friday, Xi Jinping asserted that China is a leading force in the AI revolution while subtly criticizing U.S. efforts to establish regulations and ethical standards for emerging technologies.

WAIC has been an annual event in Shanghai since 2018. This year, it marked the introduction of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), which is founded by China and includes founding members such as Russia, Cuba, Brazil, Pakistan, and Venezuela.

In his remarks, Xi framed China as a champion of AI development for the Global South. While he didn’t mention the U.S. explicitly, his vision of a China-led AI landscape resonates with earlier initiatives from the Trump administration aimed at ensuring secure supply chains and guarding against potential abuses of AI by malicious actors.

Throughout his speech, Xi made several references to concerns over American dominance in AI. For instance, he urged nations to push back against the overextension of national security concepts in AI and to prioritize collective security rather than individual national interests.

Xi also highlighted China’s alleged commitment to “open source” AI and tech sharing, despite complaints from companies like Nvidia about being sidelined by China’s protectionist policies.

He emphasized the need for extensive international collaboration to assist Global South countries in bridging the digital divide and ensuring sustainable development, thus preventing new injustices related to AI. “We must carry out broad international cooperation,” he noted.

The main thrust of Xi’s message was that Western countries have unfairly monopolized AI technology. He expressed a desire for China to lead the charge in redistributing this technological wealth and advocated for a stronger role for the United Nations in AI governance.

Additionally, Xi pledged support for organizations in the Global South, such as ASEAN and the African Union, and mentioned plans to establish numerous AI training centers in those regions. “China is ready to work with all parties,” he stated, aiming for a collaborative approach to address the complexities of AI development.

Chinese state media laid the groundwork for Xi’s address, comparing America’s Pax Silica vision to the Iron Curtain era, while promoting the idea that China seeks to create an “alternative order” through a collaborative AI ecosystem.

However, simultaneously, there are reports that China is contemplating restrictions on foreign access to some of its leading AI models, pointing to the increasing tension between its open-source aspirations and national security concerns.

Despite the challenges, analysts caution against discounting China’s potential influence. Currently, WAICO has 29 members, while the U.S. AI initiative counts 35 signatories, with considerable disparities in wealth and technology favoring the U.S. coalition.

In a related development, the Chinese startup Moonshot introduced a new AI model, named “KimiK3,” during Xi’s speech. The company claims this model is the largest open-weight AI system and has significantly closed the performance gap with leading U.S. offerings.

Additionally, Moonshot aimed to capture the spotlight following the launch of Anthropic’s latest products. The Department of Commerce recently stated that certain restrictions had been lifted for Anthropic after the company addressed security concerns, although some observers suspect political tensions might have played a role in the timing of these changes.